Pay-off reel



0, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,199,805

PAY-OFF REEL Filed Aug. 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet l 2 INVENTORS ROBERT KOHN MORTIMER c. WINSKI BY F|G.| Myw ATTORNEYS 1955 R. KOHN ETAL 3,199,805

PAY-OFF REEL Filed Aug. 20, 1962' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ROBERT KOHN gloarmsa c. wmsm 7.4%, f Wu ATTORNEYS 0, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,199,805

PAY-OFF REEL Filed Aug. 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 F [2? "El FIG. 6

INVENTORS ROBERT KOHN MORTIMER c. wmsm ATTORNEYS g- 10, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,199,805

PAY-OFF REEL Filed g- 20, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 a ll 7 ll:

III], I 1/ INVENTORS ROBERT KOHN MORTIMER c. wmsm ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,199,805

PAY-OFF REEL Filed Aug. 20, 1962 5 SheetsSheet 5 FIG. 8

INVENTORS ROBERT KOHN MORTIMER C. WINSKI AT TORNEYS z k\\\\\\\\\\ i2:

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United States Patent 3,199,8il FAY-EFF REEL Robert Kuhn mil Mortimer C. Winsisi, Michigan City, ind, assignors to Northern indiana Steel Supply o., Inc lviichigan #City, Ind, a corporation of Indiana Filed Aug. 2%, B62, Ser. No. 218,905 7 (Ilaims. (El. 242-76) The present invention relates to reels and more particularly to a reel for handling coiled wire.

In the manufacturing from wire of such products as bolts, nails, screws, fences, clothes hangers and reinforced concrete wire mesh, the wire is wound on carriers and these carriers are mounted on pay-oil reels which feed the wire into fabricating machines for the various products. In conventional or standard reels for handling coiled wire, the wire is pulled from the carriers, either vertically, in which case the carrier remains stationary, or rotationally, in which case the reel is rotated by the force applied to the wire by the fabricating machine. In order to increase the efficiency and economy in shipping, storage and in the wire fabricating operation, the amount of wire on each carrier is increased, sometimes to the extent that the fabricating machinery can not rotate the reel to remove the wire required for the operation or to the extent that it places excessive tension on the wire. Further, the increased force required to unwind the wire frequently caused the strand being removed from the coil to become intertwined in the convolutions remaining on the reel, such that the strand could not unwind and was broken by the excess tension created by the continued pull from the fabricating machine. t is therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a power operated reel for handling coiled wire which can be efiectively and accurately controlled to facilitate unreeling of the wire at the required rate and to provide the required or optimum tension on the wire being fed to the wire fabricating machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire handling reel which can be operated to vary the rotational speed of the reel, either to relieve the load on the machine to which the wire is being fed or to induce a braking action and thereby control the tension on the wire regardless of the size and weight of the coil on the reel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a power operated reel for wire which can be operated in either direction to wind or unwind the wire and perform either a booster or braking action on the wire strands leaving the reel, and which is infinitely variable in speed and can be readily varied in speed while the reel is in operation.

A further object is to provide a compact, easily and economically operated reel of the aforesaid type which is simple in construction and ruggedly built to withstand severe day-to-day heavy duty operation and which can be automatically operated to control the tension of the wire leaving the ree Another object of the invention is to provide a pay-elf reel for wire which is adapted to receive fully loaded carriers in operating position without the use of any fixtures, latches or locks or other attachment means for the carriers, and which permits the emptied carriers to be disassembled therefrom by merely hfting the carriers from the reel.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the present wire handling reel, showing the reel without the wire carrier thereon;

3,199,805 Patented Aug. 10, 1965 FEGURE 2 is a top plan view of the reel shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial elevational view of the reel shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, illustrating it with a wire carrier thereon;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the reel shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view of the reel shown in the preceding figures, the section being taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal cross sectional View of the reel shown in the preceding figures, the section being taken on line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view of the present reel, the section being taken on line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view of the upper portion of the reel shown in the preceding figures, the section being taken on line 88 of FIG- URE 2; and

FIGURE 9 is a vertical cross sectional view of the reel, taken on line 9-? of FIGURE 7.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral It) designates generally the present wire handling reel having a base 12, housing 14 mounted on base 12, and rotatable carrier support 16 mounted on housing 14- for receiving a carrier 18. While the present wire handling reel is constructed primarily to handle the type of carrier shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, it may be used satisfactorily with other types of carriers. The carrier 18' shown in the drawings is described in detail and claimed in our co-pending application Serial No. 218,011, filed concurrently herewith, now US. Patent No. 3,127,127.

The carrier support consists of a disc-shaped plate 22 mounted on a cylindrical hub 24, which in turn is rotatably supported on stationary axle member 26 by roller bearing 23, the roller bearing 28 consisting of inner and outer races 30 and 32 and a plurality of rollers 34 interposed between the two races. The inner race is seated on a radially extending flange 36 on axle member 26, and the outer race 32 supports hub 24 by seating against shoulder 38 on the internal surface of the hub. Axle member 26 is supported by panel 40 of housing 14 and is held firmly in place by being welded in a recess 42 in the upper surface of panel 40. Mounted on plate 22 is a carrier holder 44, consisting of two intersecting arcuate ribs 46 and 48 secured to support member 56 which is secured by a plurality of bolts 52 and stud 53 to plate 22 and hub 24, and which is provided with upwardly extending flanges 54 for giving support to members 46 and 43. it is seen that the entire support structure, with the exception of axle member 26, is rotatable and is driven by a sprocket 56 from a drive means in housing 14, the sprocket being secured to hub 24 by a radial flange 58 and a plurality of bolts 6% extending through the flange and sprocket.

The drive mechanism for the carrier and support 16 is enclosed in housing 14 and consists of motor 70, variable gear reduction mechanism 72 and variable speed drive 73 interconnecting the motor and gear reduction mechanism. The variable speed drive may, for the purpose of the present description, be considered a conventional and well known type, the one shown consisting of a manu ally variable sheave 74 mounted on motor shaft 76 and resiliently variable sheave 78 mounted on gear reduction input shaft 80. The two sheaves are basically of the same construction, consisting of two laterally spaced and movable flanges 82 and 84 on sheave 74, and laterally movable flanges 36 and 88 on sheave 78. The two sheaves 74' and 78 are adjusted to obtain the desired speed by a manually operated mechanism consisting of a lever 90 bearing against the end of sheave 74 and being movhousing.

able by an adjustment screw 92 operated by handle 94 and supported at the end of the sheave by support bracket 96, the latter being secured to the motor mounting means 98. The motor mounting means 98 is bolted or otherwise secured to base 1% of the housing, and the gear reduction mechanism 72 is supported on bracket 162 which is welded or otherwise joined to the side of the The current for the motor is supplied thereto by line 104 connected to box 196 and line 138 connecting the box to the motor.

The output shaft 110 of the gear reduction mechanism extends upwardly through panel 40 near one corner of housing 14 and in spaced relation to sprocket 56, and

has rigidly mounted thereon for rotation a small sprocket '112, the shaft 110 being journalled in a bearing 116 mounted on housing panel 40. The large sprocket 56 is driven from small sprocket 112 by a chain 114.

The reel is adapted to operate both to wind and unwind wire on carrier 18 and, for these two operations, rotatable carrier support 16 can be readily reversed in rotational direction by reversing motor 741*, the direction,

as well as starting and stopping, of the motor being controlled by the push buttons on electrical control box 1%. The tension of the wire paying off the carrier is controlled by adjusting the speed of the variable speed drive 73, the drive being adjusted to increase the rotational speed of the carrier to reduce the tension of the wire and adjusted to decrease the rotational speed to increase the tension.

The adjustment mechanism for varying the setting on the variable speed drive to regulate the tension of the wire being wound on or unwound from the reel can be controlled automatically if desired, using a defiectable roller in contact with the strand of wire. As the roller is moved with variations in wire tension, an electrical regulator controlled by movement of the roller increases or decreases the speed of the variable speed drive as required to maintain the desired tension on the wire strand. While the variable speed drive 73 shown'in the drawings is a manually or mechanically adjustable type, a magnetic coupling type variable speed drive controlled by a rheostat, of well known construction, may be substituted therefor. The rheostat control can be effectively connected and controlled by the roller to maintain the desired tension on the wire strand.

In the operation of the present reel shown in the drawings, a carrier on which a large coil of Wire has been mounted is placed on support 16 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, and motor 70 is energized. The motor drives support 16 through sheave 74, belt 77, sheave 78, gear reduction mechanism 72, shaft 119, small sprocket 112, chain 114 and large sprocket 56. As the motor drives support 16 and carrier 18 with the coil of wire thereon, the operator obtains the desired speed by rotating adjustment screw 92 inwardly and outwardly by the use of handle 94. The gear reduction mechanism preferably contains a gear shift for reversing the direction of rotation and, in combination with the variable speed drive, the drive mechanism can produce any desired speed in the carrier in either direction. It is thus seen that the tension on the wire leaving the coil for the fabricating machine can be varied to satisfy requirements by varying the variable speed drive, and the reel can be used, if desired, either to wind or unwind wire on carrier 18.

We claim:

1. A wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire, comprising a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a wire coil carrier, a vertically arranged flange disposed at the outer end of and positioned transversely to each of said plate members, a sprocket on said rotatable hub, a drive mechanism in said housing including a reversible motor with a shaft, a gear reduction mechanism with input and output shafts, a variable sheave on said motor shaft, a variable sheave on said input shaft, a belt on said sheaves, a means for varying the pitch of said sheaves to thereby vary the speed of said output shaft, a sprocket on said output shaft, and a chain connecting said first and last mentioned sprockets.

2. A wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire, comprising a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a wire coil carrier, a sprocket on said rotatable hub, a drive mechanism in said housing including a motor with a shaft, a gear reduction mechanism with input and output shafts, a variable speed drive connecting said motor and said gear reduction mechanism, a sprocket on said output shaft, and a chain connecting said first and said last mentioned sprockets. V

3. A wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire, comprising a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a discshaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a wire coil carrier, a sprocket on said rotatable hub, variable speed power drive mechanism disposed in said housing and having an output shaft, a sprocket on said output shaft, and a chain connecting said first and last mentioned sprockets.

4. A wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire, comprising a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a Wire coil carrier, a variable speed power drive mechanism in said housing, and a drive means connecting said power drive mechanism with said rotatable support.

5. In a wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire: a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a wire coil carrier, and a vertically arranged flange disposed at the outer end of and positioned transversely to each of said plate members.

6. In a wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of wire: a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, and a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said discshaped plate for driving engagement with a wire coil carrier.

7. In a wire handling reel using a carrier for a coil of Wire: a base, a housing on said base, a rotatable support for the carrier having a disc-shaped plate, a bearing means for rotatably supporting said plate on said housing including a vertically positioned axle secured to said housing and a rotatable hub journalled on said axle, a guide means for said carrier including a pair of intersecting arcuate vertically positioned plate members on said disc-shaped plate for driving engagement with a Wire coil carrier, a vertically arranged flange disposed at the outer end of and positioned transversely to each of said plate members, and a drive means on said rotatable hub.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Crosby 24278 X Reece 24278 Brenzinger 242-54 X Lambach.

Disler 24278 McIlvried 24278 X Kohn et a1. 242129 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner. 

3. A WIRE HANDLING REEL USING A CARRIER FOR A COIL OF WIRE, COMPRISING A BASE, A HOUSING ON SAID BASE, A ROTATABLE SUPPORT FOR THE CARRIER HAVING A DISC-SHAPED PLATE, A BEARING MEANS FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID PLATE ON SAID HOUSING INCLUDING A VERTICALLY POSITIONED AXLE SECURED TO SAID HOUSING AND A ROTATABLE HUB JOURNALLED ON SAID AXLE, A GUIDE MEANS FOR SAID CARRIER INCLUDING A PAIR OF INTERSECTING ARCUATE VERTIALLY POSITIONED PLATE MEMBERS ON SAID DISC-SHAPED PLATE FOR DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH A WIRE COIL CARRIER, A SPROCKET ON SAID ROTATABLE HUB, A VARIABLE SPEED POWER DRIVE MECHANISM DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING AN OUTPUT SHAFT, A SPROCKET ON SAID OUTPUT SHAFT, AND A CHAIN CONNECTING SAID FIRST AND LAST MENTIONED SPROCKETS. 